Of Artichokes and Red Snapper

Yesterday was a gorgeous fall day with temperatures just into the 70s. We took advantage of the late afternoon weather to sit out on the patio and have a glass of Côtes de Gascogne Blanc, before heading inside. After Carter got home, I roasted red snapper topped with artichoke pesto for dinner and despite his protests, Carter wolfed down two huge pieces.

Red Snapper with Artichoke Pesto, Roasted Vegetables, and Saffron Aïoli

Enjoying a Glass of Côtes de Gascogne Blanc Before Dinner

Artichoke Pesto; Corno di Toro Peppers

After relaxing out on the patio, I threw together a quick artichoke pesto by spinning up artichokes, garlic, pine nuts, grated pecorino romano cheese, and extra virgin olive oil in the food processor. I left it pretty thick because I wanted to top the fish with it.

To a big roasting pan, I added a big handful of grape tomatoes, a couple scoops of olives with lupini beans, rings of Corno di Toro peppers from our garden, 3 or 4 cloves of garlic in chunks, some rosemary, and a splash of extra virgin olive oil. I moved all this to the sides of the roasting pan and put four nice pieces of red snapper in the middle of the pan. I spread artichoke pesto on top of the fish and into a very hot oven it went until the fish was cooked, about 20 minutes. I cranked up the broiler just to brown the top of the artichoke crust.

I served the fish sitting on top of a scoop of the roasted vegetables, with a dab of aïoli and a sprig of rosemary for garnish.

Meh. Give me Willamette Pinot Please.

Against my better judgment, I thought we would give California Pinot one more chance. And once again, I should have known better. There is nothing wrong with this Pinot and a lot of people will really love its big plush fruit and high alcohol, but for me, there was too much fruit, too much alcohol, and not enough acid. Bummer.